l If you can't save up yourself, set up a Christmas club account to help you save while you earn a little interest. The American Bankers Assn. has stopped tracking Christmas club accounts because many banks stopped offering them, but some banks and credit unions still do.

l Finally, says Virginia Leech, a personal finance professor at Virginia Tech who also heads the state consumer council, "Keep some flexibility in your holiday budget.

"Even after you have looked at every purchase and activity you think might occur during the holidays, it's a good idea to have an additional budget line for 'unexpected expenses,'" ranging from extra gas for the car to more long-distance phone calls than you'd thought you'd make.